BARROW RAIDERS 0 HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS 42
LORRAINE MARSDEN, Speed Competitions Stadium, Sunday

MOLLIE ICETON bagged a hat-trick of tries as Huddersfield continued their domination at the top of the Shield table.

There were also two tries from Amelia Brown as she remains second behind Wigan’s Eva Hunter as the league’s top scorer.

Unusually for the hosts, coach Amanda Wilkinson was able to name an unchanged side from the team that picked up their first win of the campaign last time out, only adding Maddy Hutchinson to fill the final bench spot, after naming only three substitutions against Leigh.

But the Raiders were not able to follow up that win as Huddersfield took control from the start and never looked back.

After edging the opening ten minutes for possession and territory, Huddersfield eventually made it pay when Iceton found an overlap down the left to go in for her first.

Tegan Sant’s kick hit the post and went over for the first of her four successful first-half conversions.

The Giants’ rolling momentum saw them in again just six minutes later when Brown doubled their lead, and then when a kick on the last was not dealt with by the Barrow defence, Hutchison went over untouched for Huddersfield’s third.

Brown got her second in the final moments of the half, and it was looking like plain sailing for the visitors.

Iceton showed pace once again to get past the Raiders’ edge defence six minutes after the restart and then completed her hat-trick just before the hour mark when she spotted another gap on the left to go through.

With little over ten minutes remaining Sam Hulme nipped over from dummy-half, before adding the conversion herself, and just five minutes later, as the rain was hammering down, Maddie Clegg found space on the right to touch down. Sant missed her third conversion of the half before being shown a yellow card for flopping in the final minute.

The defeat still leaves the Raiders rooted to the bottom of the table, but a repeat of their win over Leigh on the final day, could see them safe, depending how the two teams go next weekend.

RAIDERS: 19 Blossom Howell, 2 Chloe Capstick, 3 Emily Stirzaker, 17 Kelly Friend, 5 Emma Hutchinson, 13 Nicole Stewart, 7 Beth Pattinson, 16 Mia Dobson, 14 Leah Cottier, 10 Jodie Morley, 8 Leah Clough, 11 Lucy Dickinson, 26 Darcy Southward. Subs: 15 Jodie Crawford, 18 Megan Mayhew-Beach, 23 Kendall Dutton, 25 Maddie Houghton

GIANTS: 1 Amelia Brown, 28 Madison Clegg, 3 Elle Frain, 31 Tara Moxon, 5 Mollie Iceton, 26 Liv Gale, 30 Tegan Sant, 8 Gracie Hobbs, 9 Meg Preston, 10 Lauren Exley, 32 Bo Lynch, 12 Maddy Hutchison, 29 Charlotte McDaid. Subs (all used): 7 Sam Hulme, 20 Leah Mae Beckett, 33 Olivia Screene, 4 Fran Copley

Tries: Iceton (12, 46, 57), Brown (18, 39), Hutchison (25), Hulme (67), Clegg (72); Goals: Sant 4/7, Hulme 1/1; Sin bin: Sant (79) – flop

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-12, 0-18, 0-24; 0-28, 0-32, 0-38, 0-42

Half-time: 0-24; Referee: Isaac Carson